


Lost Between a Dream and a Nightmare

by mks57



Category: Timeless (TV 2016), Timeless S3
Genre: AU random moment, Awkward Friendship, Be kind as this is just random, Desolation, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Flynn snores, Grief/Mourning, Jiya tries to hump Lucy in her sleep on the regular, So real that it was too painful for words, Timeless Season 3 Project
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-12 17:05:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17471501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mks57/pseuds/mks57
Summary: The team has been stranded in 1900, Montana for two weeks. Lucy is struggling to cope with her grief and her guilt. As it eats at her psyche, she can't help but instinctually reach out to the one person who has been there for her through it all. Random AU Ficlet set between 3x07 and 3x08.





	Lost Between a Dream and a Nightmare

Lucy sighed happily as she opened her eyes after a really good sleep. She turned on her side and saw the sunlight streaming through the window onto the floor of her bedroom. She loved watching the dust motes dance in the air, there was something magical about it like a hidden world of magic existing in her normal yet bleak world.

Her smile softened as she remembered it was her day off but her day on with her mother. She didn’t begrudge the time she had with her. She just grieved the mother she was slowly watching die. She pushed the thoughts away as she pushed herself out of bed.

She found her way down stairs and walked into her mother’s room. Carol sat up in her bed, scarf around her bald head and smile on her face. She opened a snickers bar, bit into it with enthusiasm and chewed it. Lucy frowned as it didn’t seem right.

“Lucy, you sleep well?” Carol asked.

“Yeah, you’re eating snickers for breakfast?” Lucy asked her.

“You only live once.” Amy remarked casually as she strolled into the bedroom with a beer and a glass of milk.  She placed the milk on the beside table before she slouched into the chair by the bed. 

“She’s right, you need to enjoy your life more.” Carol told Lucy as if she were the leading authority on everything.

“I’ve been telling her that for years.” Amy said, for the first time in their relationship actually agreeing about something which left Lucy momentarily stunned.

“I am – Or I was until...” Lucy stammered unsure of how to answer.

“You know he’s doing all this for you, right?” Amy asked her.

“Who?” Lucy asked, she heard the knock at the front door. She looked back her mother and sister who gave a shrug and continued to eat and drink. The knock sounded again.

“Better go answer it.” Amy told Lucy. Lucy looked a little flabbergasted as she left the room. As she walked to the front door, her outfit changed. She stopped at the mirror in the front foyer, she looked ready to go out for the day.

She opened the door to find Noah dressed as a UPS man. He held a large box, and the hand held device that he used to scan the box.

“Morning Ma’am.” he said as he held out the device for her to sign.

“Don’t call me Ma’am.” Lucy said in an exasperated manner as she truly despised how it made her feel like 70 yr old undesirable woman.

“Ok, Mrs Flynn, your package. If you'll just sign for it, please.” He said, not perturbed as he waited for her to sign for it. She felt a warm feeling of enjoyment wash through her as she heard what he called her. She took the package and the next thing she knew, she turned and absentmindedly placed her keys on the table like she had just come home.

The house was dark like it was the evening, Lucy carried the box to the kitchen area and placed the package on the table. She read the address and saw it was addressed to Lucy Preston-Flynn.

“Another present from lover boy.” Emma drawled, Lucy smiled as she looked to find her mother, Emma and Amy at the dining table.

“When Henry and I were newlyweds; he’d send me gifts too.” Carol said with a warm smile, she was no longer sick as she looked healthy and her hair had grown in. Amy placed take away containers on the table from Lucy’s favourite Chinese restaurant.

“Well open it up.” Amy prompted her. Lucy somehow popped it open. She pulled out a mountain of tissue paper before she found the gift.

Relief washed through her as she lifted it out of the box. In her hands, she held the mothership. She couldn’t believe it, it was so beautiful and light.

She blinked, but when she opened her eyes; she was greeted with the view of an old wooden wall. Slowly all of her senses woke up. She felt the chill of the air and the sweat down her back as she was roasting in the bed. The stench of six people sharing a small space and the lack of amenities hit her as she heard some of the others shuffling around the small room. She remembered this was real, her eyes burned, her heart ached as she had been home in her sleep.

It had felt so real, even the weird disconnected moments. She remembered the sunshine filtering through the window, the sense of peace in being home. She wasn't there, it broke her heart as it was a reminder of what she lost. It was a reminder of the nightmare she was living in 1900s with Rittenhouse still in existence.

She flexed her sore fingers of her empty hands, sad because she literally had nothing. She felt a lump in her throat, she sucked in her bottom lip as she didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to cry in front of the others. She didn’t want them to know she was crying over things that were gone and frankly, were never real to begin with.

She pushed up in bed, her body aching from head to toe. She was so tired of this life on the frontier. She was tired of sharing her space with everyone, sharing everything. Having to be strong and pretending it was ok when it wasn't. She couldn't say anything because Wyatt complained enough for them all. She felt it was partially their fault that they were stuck here as she was a Rittenhouse Legacy.

Careful not to disturb Jiya, Lucy slipped out of bed. She cringed as her socked feet touched the near freezing floor. She hated nearly everything about this time period except one thing. Nature, when she did her chores; she could be alone in nature and able to breathe fresh air and let the peaceful surroundings soothe her. The payment for that pleasure was backbreaking work of laundry and collecting water or firewood.

She quickly pulled her shirt over her chemise and buttoned it up before pulling on her skirts. Once she was happy with her outfit, she quickly pulled her hair into a bun grateful for the modern convenience of a hair tie. She turned and saw Flynn by the fire stoking it back to life as it had died down during the night. Denise disappeared outside, presumably to use the outhouse.

“Morning.” Flynn said softly as many of the others were still sleeping.

“Hi.” Lucy said as she moved to the door and grabbed her boots. She needed the extra layer for her feet and she needed to get a start on her day. Her body was still sore and getting used to the hard labour of getting the simplest of chores complete. It slowed her down, especially as the weather was turning colder as the days passed.

“You ok?” Flynn asked her with concern.

“Just another rough night.” Lucy grumbled, her stomach turning as she missed the present and so many things about it. Modern conveniences, the ability to hide in her own space with her favourite blanket and watch TV or read a book. She pulled on the one size too small boots and tied up the laces.

“I’m sorry if my snoring is keeping you up.” He said sincerely, Lucy blew out a breath.

“It’s not.” She said truthfully as what kept her up was her mind and guilt churning away. If anything, his rhythmic snoring lulled her to sleep. 

But when she slept, the dreams came. Nonsensical dreams of home, it was never like she felt herself fall asleep. It was like she blinked and she was there, she blinked again and was back in this hell hole. No misty ‘wow, I slept well’ moments. Just a sharp snap between the two that left her disorientated and confused but mostly heartbroken.

“If anything is keeping me awake it’s Jiya.” Lucy told him in a low voice. Flynn frowned. “She shakes her leg, I’m not sure if it’s because she nervous being here or what. But every night, it feels she’s humping my leg like a energetic and amorous rabbit.” Lucy told him, she couldn’t help but snort a laugh at Flynn’s surprise.

“I guess I lucked out in not sharing a bed with another person.” He said as he looked amused. There were very few secrets left about one another’s personal habits. Thanks to the cramped quarters and complaining, it was easy to realise two things. One; they really didn’t know one another and two; you had to find the humour otherwise you’d just get angry or cry.

“I doubt sleeping on the floor is fun.” Lucy told him.

“It’s not, but it’s only temporary.” Flynn said, he spun the positive out of dreary situation.

“I’m going to go do the laundry.” Lucy said deciding not to comment as it had been two weeks. She felt like they would be stuck here forever. She didn’t want to say as much because she feared confirmation. If they were stuck, she wasn’t entirely sure how she’d cope. But she did know that she couldn’t live like this.

“Let me help you.” Flynn said.

“I’m good.” Lucy said as she pulled on a jacket. She wished she had more layers but she was lucky to have the clothes on her back.

“Ok, I'll walk with you as I need to check the snares out that way.” He said, Lucy gave a nod accepting the help. She picked up the basket of washing, Flynn picked up his musket and sheathed a knife in his boot.

They passed Denise on their way out, once Denise gave her blessing the couple headed towards the nearby stream.

“Do you think those snares will work?” Lucy asked, needing to fill the silence between them to stop herself from thinking about her dreams.

“Hopefully, if we catch something then we can eat the meat and sell the pelt in town.” Flynn said casually.

“You think we’ll be here that long?” Lucy asked, confused as he talked about their life here like it was temporary but he clearly was thinking of long term prospects if they had to be here longer than intended.

“I hope not, but it’s best to think ahead just in case.” Flynn said, his eyes scanning the surrounding areas for trouble and food. “I know this is not ideal-“

“Ideal? We’re crammed into a tiny cabin like sardines in a can-“ Lucy stopped before she truly let her mouth run away from her. Flynn got ahead of her and stepped in her way.

“What’s really going on?” Flynn asked her, he stood on the slope that lead to the stream which made him nearly at eye level to her. She could feel his analytical eyes stripping away the layers of the mask she hid behind. Hot tears pricked her eyes but she refused to cry them. It was her grief to carry alone. But even so, it didn’t stop her from asking the question.

“Do you ever have vivid dreams that feel so real that you wake up and wonder if this is the nightmare?” Lucy asked him, she immediately regretted it as she felt like an idiot.

“Sometimes.” Flynn confessed softly, he wore a bleak and raw expression like he was almost lost in his own mind. “Especially after Lorena and Iris were taken from me. I cherished the dreams and despised them at the same time. It was like I was being mocked by Time or God. I could never figure out which.” He said, he looked as emotionally drained as she felt.

“I’ve been having them all the time. I just want to cry, but if I cry, I might not stop. There’s no way to cry without everyone knowing and being concerned. We have bigger problems.” Lucy rambled. Flynn wore an empathetic expression.

“You don’t need to hide your pain, the others would understand-”

“And bring morale down. No, I can’t do that. My grief, is my own and I shouldn’t be sad that my mother is dead when she was a monster.” Lucy told him in a cold and matter of fact manner but it didn’t hide the pain in her features.

“She was your mother who loved and raised you into the person you are today.” Flynn reminded her.

“I know.” Lucy said, she wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good thing or not.

“Lucy, the mother you had after Amy was erased. She was different, she had a whole other life to the one you know. But the mother that you, she walked away from Rittenhouse and married Henry, they raised you and Amy. She deserves to be honoured.” Flynn said.

“We don’t know what happened with her and Rittenhouse.” Lucy argued.

“I know and we may never know but the important take away is that there was an original timeline for you. The one you lived when you had a sister and two parents who loved you very much. It’s ok to grieve that loss, it is ok to cry and feel whatever you need to, to get through the day.” he told her, he was right. Neither of them knew the truth and maybe it didn’t matter if it wasn’t true. But there was a strange hope in knowing her entire past wasn’t a complete lie. They stood in companionable silence as Lucy digested his words before Flynn spoke up.“Anyway, I should check on the snares. If you want help scrubbing the clothes, just yell.” He told her.

Lucy nodded, unable to speak as she was so afraid of fragile façade crumbling. She watched as he ambled away with his usual grace, grateful as he gave her the space to breathe again. But at the same time, she wanted him to stay; to be by her side. The words she needed to say to have him turn around and stay; were stuck in her throat.


End file.
